Significant Settlements By The Firm, The Firm - Tuesday, November 8, 2011 15:16 - 2 Comments

Leaking Underground Storage Tank Case Settlements

Our firm recently settled two separate lawsuits in Alabama against the owners of underground storage tank (UST) systems. One lawsuit involved a UST leak at a gasoline station in Tuskegee. The other lawsuit involved a UST leak from another gasoline station, this one located in Montgomery.

The Tuskegee lawsuit was brought on behalf of twelve individuals who owned property adjacent to or near the Defendant’s gasoline station on East Martin Luther King Drive. In this case, the Defendant’s USTs leaked gasoline into the soil and groundwater near our clients’ properties. The toxic gasoline constituents migrated off the Defendant’s property and onto adjacent and nearby properties contaminating them with dangerous chemicals, including benzene. On some properties closest to the USTs, the benzene contamination reached concentrations above the regulatory screening levels established by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

In addition to suffering damages resulting from the trespass of dangerous chemicals onto their property, some of our clients suffered nuisance caused by activities and equipment used to remove the contamination from the soil and groundwater. Clean-up of this site is ongoing.

The Montgomery lawsuit involved similar facts. A leak from Defendant’s UST system caused toxic gasoline constituents to migrate from the Defendant’s property onto our client’s adjacent property. Because of the contamination, our client suffered a reduction in property value and a diminishment in their ability to use their property.

Rhon Jones, Chris Boutwell and Luke Bentley, all lawyers in our firm’s Toxic Torts Section, worked on these two cases. They did a very good job for our clients. The terms and amounts of these settlements are confidential, but we are well pleased with both outcomes. The Tuskegee case was referred to us by the law firm of Hamilton, Sexton & Berry and Montgomery lawyer Joel Gregg. In fact, Joel also referred the Montgomery case to our firm. If you would like more information on these cases, believe that your health or property has been harmed by a leaking UST, or have any questions concerning them you can contact Chris Boutwell in our office at 800-898-2034 or by email at Chris.Boutwell@beasleyallen.com.